Welcome to WannaBeBig Bodybuilding and Weightlifting Forums! If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You have to REGISTER
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing topics and posts,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Hybrid View

Pyramiding

Sorry, I'm kinda noob at pyramiding. I don't really know what it is, except that you go down in reps or something? When you go down, does the weight increase? And what's the purpose of pyramiding? Is it to gain strength, mass, or endurance? Or is it just to get a better workout overall?

I try to visualize that my girlfriend is under the weight and I have to push the weight up to save her. Of course it doesn't work and I just laugh as I think about the weight slowly crushing her bones. Then I remember it's me under the weight and give 200% effort to push it back up.

There are 2 types of pyramiding that I know of. One is when you do your heaviest weight of the exercise as your first set, then for your next set, you decrease the weight and so on. The amount you decrease depends on the exercise being performed. I think that's called the backwards pyramid.

The other is the opposite. You start with your lighter weight and with each set increase the weight.

From what I've seen on this site, most people prefer the backwards pyramid

I try to visualize that my girlfriend is under the weight and I have to push the weight up to save her. Of course it doesn't work and I just laugh as I think about the weight slowly crushing her bones. Then I remember it's me under the weight and give 200% effort to push it back up.

I think it comes down to preference. It's also good to alternate set/rep structures. Your body requires a change in routine from time to time. I have personally used all three structures you've mentioned, pyramiding, drop sets and keeping the weight the same. Right now, I increase the weight for each set on compound exercises and keep it the same when doing isolation movements. It seems to work pretty well. That and I have a little variety each day at the gym.

Best way to cheat on deadlifts...

Stand there for a few minutes, then pace back and forth a lot, huff and puff, wait until everybody's looking. Approach the bar. Back off. Approach it again. Back off. Get some water. Chalk up. Approach the bar again. Then spray some more chalk around. Wait until people start losing interest. When nobody's looking, pick it a little off the floor, and slam it down. Jump up and yell "LIGHT WEIGHT BABY". Then give high fives all around. - Belial

I don't see the point of these high-fallutin' fancypants' workout strategies, just pick a good exercise for the bodypart you wantto work, pick a heavy weight, and bomb the muscle. i don't think your muscles care if you're jerking off or squatting a billion pounds, just make sure you bomb your muscles with a heavy weight in your desired rep range. Then again, I am a complete noob.

I try to visualize that my girlfriend is under the weight and I have to push the weight up to save her. Of course it doesn't work and I just laugh as I think about the weight slowly crushing her bones. Then I remember it's me under the weight and give 200% effort to push it back up.

I don't buy that. Can the enzymes or whatever the ****, I don't know, whatever is responsible for healing your muscles really read and react to what pattern your lifting weights in? As long as the muscle is being reamed by hardwork and heavy loads, and as long as there is sufficient food being consumed to power whatever it is that goes on deep in your body, will you not grow? Are you not entertained? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

I don't buy that. Can the enzymes or whatever the ****, I don't know, whatever is responsible for healing your muscles really read and react to what pattern your lifting weights in? As long as the muscle is being reamed by hardwork and heavy loads, and as long as there is sufficient food being consumed to power whatever it is that goes on deep in your body, will you not grow? Are you not entertained? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Well, I don't know the scientific way to explain it. Maybe you should go to Dr. Joto for that one lol.

But what happens is your body gets used to lifting a certain way. Just how people in normal lives make habits. For example, Joe plays a video game a lot, and it eventually becomes a habit of his to play everyday. After a while, he gets bored of the game and is no longer mentally stimulated from the game. But then he goes out and purchases a different video game, which now stimulates his mind a lot. ...etc...

That is the same with weightlifting. After a while of doing the same thing over and over, your body gets "bored" of your current routine and isn't stimulated from it anymore. Now, you have to modify your routine to make it so your body DOES get stimulated from the workout.

I dunno, that was probably a stupid analogy. But it was the best I could think of lol.

I try to visualize that my girlfriend is under the weight and I have to push the weight up to save her. Of course it doesn't work and I just laugh as I think about the weight slowly crushing her bones. Then I remember it's me under the weight and give 200% effort to push it back up.

well with any routine, you are bound to hit a plateau sooner or later. You have to change you routine up when your gains slow down. It can be anything from changing exercises to number of reps.

The purpose of backwards pyramiding is putting up the most amount of weight at the end of each exercise. When you start out with heaviest first, you can do the most number of reps with that, and so on. Say you do BP 200x8, 190x8, 180x7, 170x6. That's a total of 5400lbs.

Now if you do it with a regular pyramid, 170x8, 180x8, 190x7, 200x6. That's 5330lbs.

With that example, you do 70lbs more total weight at the end of the exercise with a backwards pyramid. Not sure exactly how much more effective that 70lbs makes it, but it is more weight put up. Plus, with the regular pyramid, i don't know if you'd be able to do those number of reps if each set is taken to failure.

Personally, I've done both regular and backwards, and both have worked for me. By using a backwards pyramid, I just find that my workouts are much more intense because of the weight i'm putting up.

well with any routine, you are bound to hit a plateau sooner or later. You have to change you routine up when your gains slow down. It can be anything from changing exercises to number of reps.

The purpose of backwards pyramiding is putting up the most amount of weight at the end of each exercise. When you start out with heaviest first, you can do the most number of reps with that, and so on. Say you do BP 200x8, 190x8, 180x7, 170x6. That's a total of 5400lbs.

Now if you do it with a regular pyramid, 170x8, 180x8, 190x7, 200x6. That's 5330lbs.

With that example, you do 70lbs more total weight at the end of the exercise with a backwards pyramid. Not sure exactly how much more effective that 70lbs makes it, but it is more weight put up. Plus, with the regular pyramid, i don't know if you'd be able to do those number of reps if each set is taken to failure.

Personally, I've done both regular and backwards, and both have worked for me. By using a backwards pyramid, I just find that my workouts are much more intense because of the weight i'm putting up.

Thanks. That helps. I think I'll probably stick to my 'keeping the weight the same' way of lifting right now since I've already changed up my routine like 5 billion times. But once I plateau, I'll try backwards pyramid.

I try to visualize that my girlfriend is under the weight and I have to push the weight up to save her. Of course it doesn't work and I just laugh as I think about the weight slowly crushing her bones. Then I remember it's me under the weight and give 200% effort to push it back up.